[BreachExchange] FBI shares technical details for Hive ransomware

[Sophia Kingsbury]

https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/fbi-shares-technical-details-for-hive-ransomware/

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has released some technical
details and indicators of compromise associated with Hive ransomware
attacks.

In a rare occurrence, the FBI has included the link to the leak site where
the ransomware gang publishes data stolen from companies that did not pay.

Multiple tactics and techniques
Hive ransomware relies on a diverse set of tactics, techniques, and
procedures, which makes it difficult for organizations to defend against
its attacks, the FBI says.

Among the methods that the gang uses to gain initial access and to move
laterally on the network, there are phishing emails with malicious
attachments and the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP).

Before deploying the encryption routine, the Hive ransomware steals files
they deem valuable, to pressure the victim to pay the ransom under the
threat of a data leak.

The FBI says that the threat actor searches for processes for backups, file
copying, and security solutions (like Windows Defender) that would hinder
the data encryption task and terminates them.

This stage is followed by dropping a hive.bat script that performs a
cleanup routine by removing itself after deleting the Hive malware
executable.

Another script called shadow.bat is tasked with deleting shadow copies,
backup files, and system snapshots and then removes itself from the
compromised host.

The FBI says that some Hive ransomware victims reported being contacted by
the attacker asking them to pay the ransom in exchange for the stolen files.

“The initial deadline for payment fluctuates between 2 to 6 days, but
actors have prolonged the deadline in response to contact by the victim
company,” the agency notes in its Flash bulletin.

Along with indicators of compromise (IoCs), the FBI also provides a link to
the threat actor’s leak site, a detail that is typically hidden in
technical reports.

Some of the files observed in Hive ransomware attacks include the following:

   - Winlo.exe - used to drop 7zG.exe, a legitimate version of the 7-Zip
   file archiver
   - 7zG.exe - version 19.0.0 of the 7-Zip file archiver
   - Winlo_dump_64_SCY.exe - used to encrypt files with the .KEY extension
   and to drop the ransom note HOW_TO_DECRYPT.txt

The FBI notes that the threat actor also relies on file-sharing services,
many of them anonymous, like Anonfiles, MEGA, Send.Exploit, Ufile, or
SendSpace.

Although it was first observed in late June, Hive ransomware has already
breached more than 30 organizations this summer, a count that includes only
victims that refused to pay the ransom.

A recent victim of Hive ransomware is Memorial Health System, which offers
a network of services that includes three hospitals and providers
representing 64 clinics.

>From files seen by BleepingComputer, the attacker stole databases
containing information belonging to more than 200,000 patients.

The FBI does not recommend paying the threat actors to discourage then from
continuing the activity. Furthermore, there is no guarantee that the
attacker will destroy the stolen data instead of selling it or giving it to
fellow criminals.

Regardless of the ransomware victim's decision to pay or not, the FBI urges
companies to report ransomware incidents to the local field office to help
investigators with critical information to track the attackers, "hold them
accountable under US law, and prevent future attacks."
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